Pipe cutter



Dec. 23, 1952 GRlMALD] 2,622,323

PIPE CUTTER Filed Sept. 23, 1950 IIIIIIKII 1 l 56 55 INVENTOR 5o 65 DHVID GRIMHLDI ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23,1952

UNlTED ta stints PIPE oUT'riin David Grim'aldi, Cry's'tal' Lake, N. J. Application September 23, 1950, Serial in. 186,469

6 Qlaiiris.

My invention relates to a pipe cutter. My pipe cutter comprises a body consisting of two substantially identical body members, ef-se1niringlike form, hinged together at one side; with locking means at the oppositeside a radially adjustable shaft carrying a cutter housed in one of said body members, and an opposed radially adjustable shaft carrying a pair of rollers housed in the other body member, the radial adjustment of each of said shafts being accomplished by respective cam means, and means actuating said cam means. n

The device of my invention is designed primarily for cutting the heavy copper tubing generally used in water and heating systems in-- stalled in houses. V

In installing such systems, it isfrequently necessary tocut the tubing in place,- in cramped and confined locations. Thus in the installation of heating systems, at times risers, usually of inch outside diameter, located" in the space between inner and outer walls, in frame construction usually about 3% inches, must be cut to the correct size with a free space of only 1 inches on each side of the tubing. Again, the riser is brought out under the floor by a short section of tubing coupled at a right angle to the riser, and another short section, coupled to first named short section is brought up through and above" the floor, as close as 2 inches to the inner wall, which must be cut, in place, to the correct height above the floor, for connection to the valve of the radiator. Other instances of cutting'tubin'g in very close quarters occur" in the" installation of heating and water systems.

Cutting tubing at the cramped locations mentioned by available pipe cutters is a tedious and time consuming operation, requiring numerous shifts of the pipe cutter on the tubing.

While I- have mentioned the usefulness of my invention in cutting tubing in the installation of water and heating systems, it has a much wider application, and I am not'in any way limiting it to the fields of use in plumbing and heating systems.

Objects of my invention are: (l) to provide a pipe cutter which once adjusted to the tubing can be continuously turned around the tubing until the cut is completed; with no adjustment other than the; gradualextensicn oftheminers and cutter as the cutdeepens; (:2)" to provide a constructionwh'ere'in boththe reliefs andkthecutter are radially adjustable-i (35 tol pr'ovid'e such a pipe cutter which-is adustable tea lurality ofpipediarheteisj and. (4 to pro in. a

2 and replacement of the cutter and roller assemblies and other component parts.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment off my invention, showing in broken lines a small construction which permits the ready removal section of tubing gripped between the cutter and rollers.

Fig. 2 is a plan view v Fig. 3 is a crosasection on the line 3'3- of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawings, the body of the" pipe cutter comprises two steel body members, A and B, of semi-ringlike' form each", for convenience of manufacture composed of two laminations, I and 2. The cutter assembly of body member A com'pri'se's'a shaft 3' of rectangular cross-section, slotted at its end 4 to receive the cutter wheel 5 which is rotatably secured to shaft 3' within slot 6 by a machine screw 1'.

A cam slot 8 is cut in shaft 3, having an inclined side 9 and a vertical side It. A lateral slot I l is out within body member A, midway be-' tween the top and bottom of body member A and extending laterally completely through body member A. Slot II is formed to receive shaft 3" with a fairly close sliding fit. An arcuate slot I2 is formed within body member A, midway between its top and bottom to permit the retraction therein of cutter wheel 5 to the extent of onehalf of its diameter. A slot is is also out within body member A to receive the head of machine screw 1 or a portion thereof.

Top lamination I of body member A is bored and threaded at I3 to receive a machine screw l4 having its lower end i5 tapered for engagement with the cam surface 9 of cam slot 8', and; having an enlarged head l6 through which the handle'p'in l"! is inserted. Machine screw l l, constituting the cam engaging means, should be is a cross-section on the line 4-4 of at a right'angle to the upper surface of shaft 3*;

and-the threaded bore It should be so located intop lamination I- of body member A so that the tip of the tapered end of machine screw M willengage theupper part of the inclined" side 9 of cam slot 8 when shaft 3 is'wholly retractedii'n slot- 6, asshow'n in Fig.3.

The roller assembly of body member i3 com prises a shaftiflof rectangular cross section corresponding to cutter shaft 3, and having a" bracket 2| at'its outer and in which rollrsZ Z, 23 are rotatably mounted. A cam slot-25, similar tocam slot 8 is cut in shaft 2L-having an maimed si'de'2't and" a vertical side 27.

A lateral slot 3%, similar to slot ii in body member A, is out within body member B, midway between the top and bottom of body member B and extending laterally completely through body member B, in alignment with slot H of body member A. Slot 3B is formed to receive shaft 25 with a fairly close sliding fit. A concave slot 3! is formed in body member B to receive a portion of bracket El and rollers 22, 23 when shaft 23 is fully retracted in slot 35!.

Top lamination I of body member B is bored and threaded at 32 to receive a machine screw 33, similar to screw I l, having its lower end tapered ,for engagement with the cam surface 25 of cam slot 25, and having an enlarged head 34 through which the handle pin 36 is inserted. Machine screw 33, constituting the cam engaging means, should be at a right angle to the upper surface of body member B and the bore 32 should be so located in top lamination i of body member B so that the tip of the tapered end 31 will engage the upper portion of the inclined side 26 of cam slot 25 when shaft 20 is wholly retracted in slot 30, as shown in Fig. 3.

Body members A and B are hinged together by a link 40, pivotally secured at one end thereof to body member B and at the other end to body member A by pivot pins indicated at 41 (Figs. 1, 2). Link 40 is seated in an interior slot cut in body members A and B, indicated at A2 in Fig. 2.

The means for locking body members A and B together comprise a link 55 similar to link 43, seated in an interior slot cut in body members A and B (Figs. 2, 3), pivotally secured to body member B at one end by pivot pin 52, a plurality of holes 55, 55' being formed at the opposite end of link 50, to provide for adjustment of said pipe cutter to tubing of varying outside diameters.

A bore 55 is formed through body member A in registry with hole 55 in link 55, both said bore and hole being located to agree with the fully closed position of body members A and B as shown in Fig. i.

A locking pin 55 is provided for insertion in bore 53 in body member A, through one of the holes 55, 55 of link 5!], according to the size of tubing to be out. Locking pin 60, has an enlarged portion 6!, of greater diameter than that of bore 53, and a still further enlarged knurled head 62. The lower portion 33 of locking pin 59 is of a diameter to furnish a fairly close sliding fit within bore 55, its extreme lower end 55 being tapered to facilitate its entry in one of holes 55, 55'. The remaining portion 35 of locking pin 60, is of lesser diameter than that of bore 53. Bore 55 is initially bored to a uniform diameter. Locking pin is then inserted into it, and the upper end 66 of bore 56 is peened over so as to restrict the opening at 63 of bore 55 to a diameter less than that of the lower portion 63 of locking pin 60. This construction, while it enables locking pin 55 to be retracted suffioiently to engage any of holes 55, 55' of link 59, prevents locking pin 50 from being completely withdrawn from bore 56, as shoulder 31 of locking pin Gil cannot pass the restricted opening at 58 of bore 55.

Laminations l, 2 of body member A and I, 2' of body member B are secured together by machine screws 19 through threaded bores l! in said body members.

Forming body members A and B in said laminations greatly simplifies the machining of the various slots therein hereinbefore described. Pivot pins ii of link 4%, and pivot pin 52 of link 50 are drive fits.

To disassemble body members A and B, screws '83 are withdrawn, pivot pins 4| and 52 are driven out, machine screws M and 33 are retracted, and top laminations l and I are simply lifted 01f bottom laminations 2, 2 of body members A and B. The cutter wheel and roller assemblies may then be lifted off lower laminations 2, 2 of body members A, B.

The sides 15 of body members A, B, are corrugated to provide a frictional grip.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Lock pin Ell is retracted so as to disengage the hole 55, 55' of locking link 5!, and body members A and B are then opened, the cutter wheel 5 and rollers 22, 23 are fully retracted. The device is then closed around the pipe to be out and locked. Cutter wheel shaft 3 and roller wheel shaft 23 are then advanced by turning down machine screws M and 33, which engage, respectively, cam surfaces 8 and 23 in shafts 3 and 25, thereby moving said shafts towards the pipe to be out until both cutter Wheel 5 and rollers 22, 23 engage pipe 83 on opposite sides, as shown in Fig. 1. Preferably shafts 3 and 2B are equidistantly thus advanced. The operator then grasps the sides 75 of body members A and B and turns the device a short distance to the right and left to get a starting out in pipe 235. He then proceeds to turn said pipe cutter around pipe 80, at intervals further advancing cutter wheel 3 and rollers 22, 23 against the pipe to provide a deeper out, and thus proceeds until the out has been completed. Once said pipe cutter has been placed around the pipe at the place of the proposed cut, it is never necessary to shift its position on the pipe other than to continuously turn it around the pipe.

Various modifications in the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings may be made which nevertheless will come within the scope of my invention.

Thus different cam means and means actuating the cam means, different locking means, different means to hinge the body members together, cutter wheel and roller wheel shafts of different cross section, than those shown in the drawings, as well as other changes, without departing from my invention, may be provided.

It will be noted that none of the parts associated with body members A and B extend laterally outside of the peripheries of said body members, so that the outside diameter of the combined body members A and B always constitutes the diameter of the device.

.I have found that a device constructed in accordance with the drawings having the following dimensions, is suitable and effective, namely: outside diameter of bodymembers A and B when in the closed position shown in Fig. 3, 3 1 inches; diameter of opening 85 when body members are in said last named position, 1% inches; holes 55, 55 in looking link 5|, arespaced 4 inch apart, on centers, hole 55 permitting said devicepto be used on pipes of /2 inch and /8 inch outside diameter, and hole 55' for 2 inch outside diameter pipe.

I claim: i I 7 1. A pipe cutter comprising two opposed body members together comprising a body having a central opening, to encompass the pipe to be out, hinge means securing said body members together at one end of each, and locking means removably securing them together at the opposite end of each, a slot extending through the periphery of each said body member transversely of the axis of said body into said central opening, a carrier block mounted in each of said slots for movement therein transversely of the axis of said body, one of said carrier blocks carrying pipe cutting means at its inner end and the other said carrier block carrying pipe engaging means at its inner end, cam means contained in each of said carrier blocks, cam actuating means adjustably mounted in a face of each said body member inside of its periphery in association with said cam means for actuating said carrier block from said face of said body member, inwardly, towards the pipe to be out, said carrier blocks, hinge means and locking means being contained whereby no part thereof will protrude outwardly from the periphery of said body.

2. A pipe cutter comprising two opposed substantially semi-cylindrical body members,. together comprising a body having a central opening to encompass the pipe to be cut, hinge means securing said body members together at one end of each, and locking means removably securing them together at the opposite end of each, a slot extending through the periphery of each said body member transversely of the axis of said body into said central opening, a carrier block mounted in each of said slots for movement therein transversely of the axis of said body, one of said carrier blocks carrying pipe cutting means at its inner end and the other said carrier block carrying pipe engaging means at its inner end, a cam slot formed in each said carrier block having an inclined surface, means adjustably mounted in a face of each said body member parallel to the axis of said body member and inside of its periphery in association with said inclined face of said cam slot for actuating said carrier block, from said face of said body member, inwardly, towards said central opening, means preventing said carrier blocks from rotating, means preventing said carrier blocks from protruding outwardly from the periphery of said body, said hinge means being contained, and said locking means being contained in the closed position of said body members, without protrusion outwardly from the periphery of said body.

3. An external pipe cutter comprising two opposed substantially semi-cylindrical body members together comprising a body having a central opening to encompass the pipe to be cut, hinge means secured to said body members at one end i I I?) thereof of each, locking means removably securing them together at their opposite ends, a slot of angular cross-section extending through the periphery of each said body member into said central opening, in diametric relationship, a carrier block of angular cross-section conforming to said cross-section of said slots, slidably mounted in each of said slots, for radial movement therein, one of said carrier blocks carrying pipe cutting means at its inner end, and the other said carrier blocks carrying roller means at its inner end, a, cam slot in each of said carrier blocks having an inclined surface, cam actuating means adjustably mounted in each said body member perpendicular to its face in association with said inclined surface of said cam slot for manual actuation, inside of the periphery of said body member, of said carrier, inwardly towards said central opening.

4. An external pipe cutter in accordance with claim 3, in which each said body member is composed of two identical laminations, removably secured together.

5. An external pipe cutter in accordance with claim 3 in which one said carrier member carries at its inner end, rotatably mounted therein, a pipe cutting disc, and the other said carrier block carries at its inner end a pair of rollers, laterally spaced.

6. An external pipe cutter in accordance with claim 3, in which said hinge means are wholly contained Within said body members, and in which said locking means comprises a latch pivotally mounted wholly within said body members when the latter are in closed position, and a latch engaging member, adjustably mounted through the face of one said body member, perpendicular thereto, inside of its periphery, for engagement with said latch.

DAVID GRIMALDI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 501,269 Cumming July 11, 1893 646,722 Barhydt Apr. 3, 1900 1,193,853 White Aug. 8, 1916 2,448,578 Condon Sept. 7, 1948 

